Three years ago I married my biggest supporter, best friend, and lover. Each year on our anniversary, we have a tradition where I wear my wedding dress and we go out and have an adventure together. When I put on my sparkling, white gown, I’m flooded with excitement, we reminisce about our wedding day, and create fun new memories together.

Our first anniversary included a surprise beach vacation to Cape Cod and Nantucket, Massachusetts, where I sported my dress to breakfast, on the golf course, and at a local candy shop. Many onlookers asked if we had just gotten married and I explained to them about my tradition and they shared their own traditions and insights into what makes a marriage last.

Year two was a rainy, but stunning sunset cruise around the Boston harbor, where we had live music and a dance floor all to ourselves since our anniversary fell mid-week!

This year my husband helped to make a lifelong dream come true—a safari in Tanzania followed by gorilla tracking in the rainforest of Rwanda! We busted our butts to afford this bucket list experience, and it was a testament of our dedication to working towards the same goals and being true teammates.

I can’t imagine a more meaningful way to celebrate than being disconnected from wifi, marveling at the sights of the Serengeti as we looked for wildlife and fantasized about all of the wonderful trips we hope to take in our lifetime together.

Click on the Africa photo(s) below to scroll through and view more!

Unfortunately I couldn’t fly with my dress since we had luggage weight restrictions, but upon our return I tossed on my gown and we headed to our favorite brunch spot, In A Pickle, for pancake tacos—who knew these existed?! The dish was served with three decadent breakfast tacos, a perfect, symbolic way to celebrate our three sweet years of marriage.

Photo via www.picturesitake.com

Photo via www.picturesitake.com

Photo via Aubrey Calo of www.picturesitake.com

Photo via www.picturesitake.com

Photo via www.picturesitake.com

Photo via www.picturesitake.com

Photo via www.picturesitake.com

Photo via www.picturesitake.com

Photo via www.picturesitake.com

With a full belly, and heart, we reflected about the love lessons we’ve learned so far in our marriage (insights I will share with you in an upcoming article!). It’s in these discussions that we continue to grow and stay connected.